Chapter 420 Arrival of Hepburn in London

“Never since I can remember have I seen such a large crowd.” In the morning he and his wife went first to De Barre Hall to attend the inauguration of the Ministers of the Government of India, and thence to Parliament Hall, where they made an address.

Mountbatten stated that the independence of the subcontinent was in advance of the date indicated to him by the British Government before he came into office, and frankly admitted that it was religious strife and the threat of anarchy which compelled him to do so.

And he again emphasized that the partition of India and Pakistan was a necessary action based on the will of the two great religions, and that the decision had been taken on the basis of the course of the two parties. By implication, he wanted to make it clear to the Indian Congress leaders, who had long advocated the subcontinent as one nation, that the Indo-Pakistani partition was not merely his personal idea.

Mountbatten went to the independence ceremony again in the evening. As soon as the carriage in which he was riding approached the viewing platform where the new Indian flag was flying, it was immediately surrounded by people.

Mountbatten decided to leave the place and return to the Viceroy’s house, for he did not feel at home as a symbol of England in the midst of the great Indian rejoicing; and in a crowd of half a million or six hundred thousand revelers, a single incident, a single act of violence, could at once lead to a catastrophe.

The carriage in which he was riding, escorted by the guards, was crawling along inch by inch, and might at any moment be swallowed up by the crowd.

“We didn’t let Monsieur le Gouverneur mess up after all.” As Viceroy Mountbatten performed his act of goodwill, Barron, the Commissioner of British India, and Ismay, the Secretary General, clinked glasses with rueful faces.

After the crunch, the two men looked out of the window in unison, as downcast as Mountbatten if not more so, and the two men consoled each other by stating that India would never develop, that it was nothing more than a congenitally handicapped man pretending that he could stand up, and it was half a day before the mood of the two men turned to discussing where they should go in the future to continue their work for the benefit of the public.

“I might have to go to the Ministry of External Affairs!” Ismay said of her next home, and waited for Barron’s reply.

“I was going to go to the Bank of Scotland, but there’s a lot of competition, and Sir Norman has offered to take it to the Middle East for a while first, and will arrange it when a position becomes available.” Sir Barron said, not without envy, “You’re at home, back on home soil where conditions are favorable. I have to work abroad.”

“The homeland has its benefits, and foreign countries have theirs.” Ismay said noncommittally, “Of course theoretically we would all like to have a position that occupies all the benefits waiting for us, but such a position can come and go, and the specifics still have to be improvised, there is always a chance.”

While the independence celebrations of India and Pakistan were taking place, and the people of the two countries were immersed in joy, the British forces stationed all over the subcontinent were instructed to withdraw, and the British forces in India were split into two parts, with the ultimate aim of traveling to the Persian Gulf and Malaya to strengthen the British military forces there.

About quite a few British Indian naval officers, employed by the Portuguese Navy Asia Fleet Lisbon and Porto battleships, in fact, two of the Nelson class battleships, are on their way to Portuguese India to serve as instructors to train the Portuguese Navy.

In this kind of happy day is naturally no one cares, Mountbatten is also very happy, on the one hand, reduce the burden of saving military expenditure, another aspect is also able to make Portugal dependent on the United Kingdom.

Part of the British naval officers in India, has rushed to Goa, of course, this is not all, because there are some senior officers, will temporarily stay in the Indian Navy, to help the Indian Navy become a professional force.

As for the British troops in India at the various continental army bases, they went to Junagadh Tupa as planned in the withdrawal program and waited for the convoys to transport them to the Persian Gulf.

The Government of India, with Nehru at its core, naturally still continued to have to resolve the issue of the Tupangs, and although almost all of them had been vested, none of the big Tupangs had carried out a rigorous statement. This work still had to be continued!

For this reason Nehru specifically asked Mountbatten to continue to be the Viceroy of India and to remain in India to indicate the rapprochement between India and the British Empire.

Now for Alan Wilson, unless an Indo-Pakistani war broke out, no news from the South Asian subcontinent was good news for him.

Still, hearing the news of Mountbatten’s continued governorship, Allen Wilson sent a telegram to his father-in-law indicating that it might be a conspiracy against the mighty Tubal States under Mountbatten’s signature.

Still feeling that it was not enough, Allen Wilson contacted Eliza, the unsuccessful Hyderabad Commissioner, to ask what the situation was now in the Hyderabad Tupa.

“The Maharaja is ready for war, and waiting as long as possible until the Kashmir issue holds New Delhi’s energies.”

Receiving a reply from Alisha, Allen Wilson sent another telegram, “As soon as there is a problem in the Tupang, Kashmir will certainly be the first, but what comes after that is out of our control, the subcontinent is no longer safe, if you have the chance find a safe place and get your case.”

“It’s reassuring to have a superior who is so sympathetic to his men, I’ve already started making arrangements.”

After all, having received Alisa’s precious gift, Alan Wilson certainly didn’t want to see anything happen to this subordinate.

Hundreds of millions of people regained their freedom, learned the good news of Allen Wilson, naturally, is a lot more serious, is a person can see that Newfoundland administrator at this time is not in a good mood, even if the first ship of timber in Newfoundland has set sail, was shipped to Europe, this can not change anything.

“Heidi, why do I feel that the relationship between Vivian and this Allen is not pure.” Finding an opportunity, Pauline Gaudet asked to Hedy Lamarr, indicating that these two were too close.

“Oh, really?” Hedy Lamarr said in surprise, “When you say it like that, it seems like it’s a bit of a close relationship.”

Hedy Lamarr gave a noncommittal answer, and Pauline Goldie sneaked another question to Ingrid Bergman, who thought to herself, “Is there even a person who is more kept in the dark than she was when she was in India?”

But Ingrid Bergman, in the end, was not as penetrating as her elder sister of the same nationality, and did not give a positive answer.

“Pauline is just an ordinary woman, she doesn’t understand what you care about, and you shouldn’t be angry.” Fei Wenli close to the man’s back, soft voice like a fine rain, “You’re such a big man, don’t be so petty.”

“If it wasn’t for that dead look that we have the most morals in America, who would want to take care of her?” Allen Wilson lit a cigarette, head did not return back hand patted Fei Wenli smooth back, “back to the quilt, do not catch a cold. Don’t you know you’re not well? Do not know the reason of placebo?”

“What’s a placebo?” Fei Wenli was obedient, directly shrinking back into the quilt, only leaving her fragrant shoulders exposed.

Alan Wilson looked back at the Great British Treasure and said heartily, “Darling, I know how to kill boredom.”

About copying the placebo effect and contributing to the Lancet matter, Alan Wilson does not feel shameful, who cares who he is, anyway, he first proposed it is his, what’s wrong with that?

Can’t you see that the British Empire’s core foreign policy, the Three Rings Diplomacy, has been tied to the current Prime Minister Adderley? Now that it has been widely accepted by the British public, who can be upset, next to the famous spewer of MPs, Mr. Churchill?

“It should be remembered that the placebo effect is more likely to occur in patients, and occurs in about thirty-five percent of patients with physical illnesses and forty percent of patients with mental illnesses. It is also due to this psychological characteristic of the patient that the charlatan doctors and witch-doctors are able to have a market for their activities and to practise their arts.”

The Lancet soon appeared Alan Wilson’s op-ed, which is, of course, very normal, how to say that he is also a Whitehall bullish civil servant, some privileges such as plugging in a queue and so on, there is no surprise.

Allen Wilson, who was well versed in deflecting contradictions, was happy with his move to take out another historical figure’s chance at fame when a telegram from London arrived in St. Johns.

The telegram was from Ali Khan’s London steward, Alan Wilson had given his London contacts to Alim to manage, so as to appear close to Ali Khan and impersonate our man ……

Arium’s telegram mentioned that a Dutch girl named Audrey Catherine Ruston, had contacted him and stated that she had just arrived in London and that she herself had not responded at this time.

“Hepburn?” Though there was no one else in the room, Allen Wilson swept around as if he were a thief, and then crackled directly into the telegraph, for being absent from London himself, there was now a task of reliability at stake, which was entrusted to Mr. Alim.

Among Alan Wilson’s telegrams was the statement that he was going to set up the persona of a dutiful brother for Alim to mold.

Whether or not he could create a deep impression in front of this Dutch girl was related to their long-lasting relationship. A day later the telegram came back with only one short word, “Understand ……”

Being the most trusted Indian in the colonies of the British Empire, Alim of course had to help out in any way he could, and began to help organize the London life of this mediocre little girl.

Plain and ordinary was Alim’s first impression, and he felt that Allen Wilson should not be so much as to have man-woman feelings for such a girl, because this Dutch girl was too ordinary, and could not be said to be ugly, but was obviously not a woman of breathtaking beauty either.

Audrey Hepburn arrived in London with her entire worth of one hundred pounds, ready to realize her dream in this city.

“Miss Audrey, my friend Mr. Alim has learned of your arrival in London and instructed me to make sure that I help you get on your feet, he has said that you are a girl with a dream and have left a very special impression on his heart.”

Alim looked at the girl in front of him with a hint of vigilance in his eyes, introduced himself, “I am a citizen of Indian origin, I became a friend when Mr. Allen was working abroad, he is now in North America, he has already said that once he has the opportunity, he will come back from North America to see you, for this reason, he has especially explained to me to help you to stand firm in London, if there is any difficulty, you can say it directly. I will definitely do my best!”